The rope
by Vernon Danforth
Summary: Please, god, get me out of this.


The rope 

* * *

><p>"You can't bargain your way out of this."<p>

* * *

><p>Hangman...<p>

Hangman.

Hold it a little while.

Just give me a day.  
>I can pay this off.<br>Just one day.  
>Please.<p>

It's so hard to tell what the answer might be. He takes his role seriously. Black hood and everything. He's even fat. Stereotypical hangman.

I can't even look him in the eyes. Wish I could just see the expression on his face. It bugs the shit out of me when reading someone is impossible.

The anxiety of it all is making me insane. My brain was not meant for this.

"Sure. I'll give you a day." 

* * *

><p>These shackles suck ass. The skin underneath the metal cuffs itches like crazy. My movement is heavily restricted. I can't even scratch my fucking nose.<p>

So very tired...

Coughing. Hacking my throat hoarse, no matter how much I cough it only makes it worse. My feet are tired, but it's better than putting all my weight on my arms.

It's been hours and no one has shown up yet. Every time a guard walks by my cell my hopes rise. Pray the guard stops to tell me I have a visitor.  
>Come on, guys. <p>

* * *

><p>"Visitor."<p>

Thank you, god!

Tails makes his way to the edge of my cell. I've never been this excited to see anyone, ever.

"Jeez Knuckles, you don't look too good. Are you okay?"  
>Do I look okay?<br>"I just said you didn't"  
>Yeah, you did.<br>" So... no?"  
>Did you bring anything to pay off the guard, or not?<br>"What? That message I got didn't say anything about any-"  
>FUCK!<p>

He stops in mid sentence and just stares at me. A lot of good that does me. The hangman is snickering.

"Look, I have some money, but not much."  
>Just give it to the hangman.<p>

He looks at me and the fat masked man standing next to my cell. He seems unsure of what to do, so I send some encouragement his way.

Give him the fucking money, Tails!

He produces a small pouch and dumps a bit of silver into the hand of my keeper. He examines it and stuffs it into his pocket.

"Not enough."  
>"What?" Tails is shocked, flabbergasted and bewildered all at once. Or maybe it's just me.<br>"You heard me. Not enough. Come back with more if you want your friend to live."  
>"Why did you put it in your pocket?"<br>"Kid, do you want to sacrifice the life of someone close to you over payment options?"  
>"No"<br>"I didn't think so. Now, get out there and be somebody."

Fuck 

* * *

><p>I hate spiders. I hate them. They scare the shit out of me, and a large brown one just happens to be meandering up my leg.<p>

Oh fuck, it's huge.

I want to scream. I want to cry. I want to shake free and murder this nuisance at once.  
>Perhaps if I stay perfectly still, it will just go away.<p>

...

...

.

...

.

Sneeze.

OW! Fuck! 

* * *

><p>The good news is that the sneeze knocked the little fucker across the room. The bad news is the fact that the little fucker bit me on the face before plummeting down into the shadows of the cobblestone floor beneath me, and skittered off into the unknown.<p>

My face really hurts. Right on the right side of my mouth. That spider really packed a punch. A bite, I mean. That's what I meant to say.

Smethings not rite... Cant tihnk strayt...  
>ijhtfiraseghp<br>Fffggg 

* * *

><p>"Viscnjgwff!"<br>...what?  
>"I said you have a visitor."<br>Oh...

My face really hurts. Something can be felt dripping down my chin.

"Knuckles?"  
>Sonic? Heyyy.<br>"Holy shit, what happened to your face?"  
>Jst a spidr byt. Is it bad?<p>

He just stares at me. That scares me.

"No. No, it's fine, it just... It's fine."  
>Did you bring nything?<br>"Yeah."  
>Giv t 2 th grrd...<br>"What?"  
>Th hngmn...<br>...What?  
>Giv it 2 him!<p>

Nod at the fat man standing next to the cell. He waits, watching me like some sadistic fucking buzzard. Trying to suck all he can out of my last remaining breaths.  
>The hangman examines his new gold.<p>

"Not enough."  
>RUSIHTTINGME?<p>

Both heads turn at the same time. I feel embarrassed. My face feels swollen and it burns.  
>Silence.<br>Sigh.

Gitruje...  
>"What?"<br>Get Rouge! 

* * *

><p>After throwing up the fourth time, draining my body of any sustenance I had left, my body fell victim to a series of gags.<br>I'm so embarrassed. The stink is unbearable.  
>Gosh, at least I won't shit myself after I've been hanged.<p>

Why did I ever leave my island? What the fuck is wrong with me?  
>It's those fucking chaos emeralds... <p>

* * *

><p>"Oh my god, your face!"<br>Is it rrlllyy taht bad?  
>"No, honey it's just that- Sonic didn't say anything about.. Oh, jeez."<br>Luk... m guna dy tonyt and I jst wnted to tll yuu...

I have to pause to catch my breath. Or choke back a sob. Whichever makes me look slightly less pathetic. My nose is running, and I have to snort a bubble back into my nose.  
>God, I must look so repulsive.<p>

Jst wnted to say i luv yuuu...

She's crying. I can't bear to watch this. Hang my head and try not to think about it. It's impossible though.

"There must be some way I can save him!" she sobs, "Please! There must be something."

A smile spreads across his face.  
>No.<br>No!  
>NO!<p>

"There is something you could do" he traces his rough, fat hand across her soft cheek. "that might change a lonely old mans mind."  
>"Y-you're saying that... if I have sex with you, you'll spare his life?"<p>

He only grins.  
>She looks down.<p>

"Okay."  
>NO! PLZ!<br>"Sorry, Knuckles. It's the only way."  
>I'd rather die!<p>

She can't hear me now, or maybe she can and she just won't respond. The hangman leads her out of my sight, and I feel as though I'll never see her again. 

* * *

><p>WersRuje?<br>'What?"  
>Where's Rouge?<br>"Oh, your bitch? She's throwing up."  
>Gahd, wut did u do 2 hrrr?<br>"What? Try and speak like you don't have that repulsive open sore on your face."  
>T's an opn sre?<br>"What?"  
>Gawd, nvm... Wut did yuu do to rouge?<br>"You don't want to know."  
>M I free?<br>"Hah. No. I told you that you couldn't bargain your way out of this."  
>YUMTHERFCKER!<p>

The hangman's laughter echoes throughout these desolate halls.  
>So does my wailing. <p>

* * *

><p>It's October. I know this because of the leaves. I've been locked away for so long that I can't seem to remember what I initially did, or when it happened.<p>

A grassy hill with a beautiful view of the valley below. This is the last thing I will see before my demise. The breeze runs across my face, stinging my face where the spider bit.  
>It feels like my skin is rotting off. It doesn't matter though. I'll be dead soon anyway.<p>

Perhaps I'll be saved at the last moment. Wood creaks beneath my feet.  
>Maybe Sonic, Tails and Rouge will come to my aide at the last possible second.<p>

No. It can't. Why? Because I thought of it. Because that would to too unrealistic. These people have guns. Sonic has speed. Speed doesn't stop guns.

He knows it. I know it.

This is it. The end.

The fat man guides me atop the trap door. The noose finds its home snug around my neck. It tightens, and the coarse rope rubs the skin on my neck raw.

"Any last wish?"  
>HA! Hahahahaha!<p>

So many things I could wish for. So few of them that would actually come true. For instance, i really wish he wouldn't hang me, but if i used that as my final wish it would be denied, and go wasted.  
>No. Better wish for something realistic.<p>

Your face, I tell him. I want to see your face. I want to look the man that kills me in the eye.  
>He guffaws like a big, dumb retard.<p>

"That's a new one, I gotta tell ya! Usually people take that opportunity to beg."  
>Yeah, I know. Just take off the hood.<br>"Whatever you say."

He grabs the top of his black hood, and pulls it off slowly for dramatic affect. He has a brown beard. Blue eyes. This is the man who will take my life. A perfect stranger. I'm just another number to him. Another easy paycheck.

"Ready?"

He doesn't wait for an answer.

"Happy Halloween!"

SNAP!

CGkklglk  
>fkkkkkkkkkkk<br>gspgrglechok 

* * *

><p>Based on the song Gallows Pole. It was the Led Zeppelin version that inspired me, but it's a cover song at any rate. Forgot the name of the guy who initially wrote it, but there you go. <p>


End file.
